Author Archives: River Clegg

The movie “Billy Madison” is probably the best movie ever made. Here’s what it’s about: Adam Sandler plays Billy, the privileged idiot son of a wealthy businessman. Billy lives a happy life that mostly consists of drinking heavily and talking in a high, whiny voice for some reason. But all is not well for Billy »

As I sat in my final class as a Yale undergrad last Thursday, I had one of my increasingly frequent epiphanies of terror: I am done with my education. Everything I had learned and forgotten over the years — the Code of Hammurabi, basic long division, French — was culminating in a singular moment, a »

Hi future Yalies! Welcome to Bulldog Days — I hope you’re enjoying Yale so far. I confess, I’m writing this with a tear in one eye. It’s partially due to fatigue, but mainly because I’m not long for Yale. As a senior, I’m told that Yale cannot go on educating me unless I apply to »

Hi everyone. My senior thesis is due in a few days, and I’ve got to get back to work on it. This means two things. One: This week, my column will be even more riddled with grammatical errors, logical fallacies and general evidence of careless disrespect for your intelligence than usual. Believe me, if I »

On Tuesday I had the privilege to listen to a speech delivered by Glenn Stanton, director of Focus on the Family, in favor of abolishing no-fault divorce. For those uninitiated, Focus on the Family is an advocacy group that describes itself as “a global Christian ministry” that is “dedicated to helping families thrive.” Also to »

If you’re anything like me, you fear the show Jeopardy. Its fans frighten me. Hang out with one of them sometime while the show’s on. Your conversation will constantly be interrupted by shouts of “What is the Lusitania?” or “Where is Canada?” Understand that I hold nothing against these freaks. Quite the contrary. As for »

Congratulations, Egypt! I see you’ve learned a thing or two from my example. By “my example,” I’m taking about my group. Yes, I’m a proud member of the Tea Party — but not a “tea bagger,” thank you, because I’ve recently discovered what that means, and I’m not interested — and a conservative Islamic society »

Recently, a much-criticized op-ed by Yale Law professor Amy Chua ran in the Wall Street Journal. I’ve read most of this piece. Now admittedly I have an inferior, Northern European-style upbringing and a decidedly sub-Chinese work ethic. But I think Chua seems to suggest something like this: Chinese parenting techniques are superior to Western ones, »

The rejection letter starts with the words “Thank you for submitting your resume …” It takes just a few more words — often with adjectives like “confused” and “angry” and “wildly unqualified” — before McKinsey & Company finally cuts you loose: “we regret that we will not be able to invite you to interview with »

River Clegg: Welcome, reader, to the second installment of my Western Canon interview series, where I chat with some of civilization’s most important figures. Today we have a special holiday-themed interview, with a guest who needs no introduction. Jesus Christ: Hi, great to be here. RC: Thanks so much for coming. JC: It’s no trouble, »

Girls, please. Let’s all just take a deep breath and take a few steps back before we get all riled up. I mean, do we really think Yale sometimes cultivates a sexually threatening atmosphere towards women? Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds? Yes, some DKE brothers shouted some playful chants about rape on Old »

River Clegg: Readers, thanks for joining me today for my first ever Western Canon interview, where I sit down to chat with some of civilization’s greatest writers about Yale’s toughest issues. Today I’m honored to have Socrates. Thanks for being here. Socrates: Pleasure. RC: So we’ve got plenty to talk about here at Yale — »